Labour Suspends Street Protests, Continues Strike.

Civil Societies Vow to Continue Street Protests


The labour unions told the media early Monday morning that they were suspending street protests because of the political dimension it had taken but insisted that the strike would go on.

At 1:30 am early Monday, Mr. Abdul Waheed Umar, NLC President announced for continuation of the nationwide  strike but suspend street rally and protest. He asked Nigerians to stay at home. The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) President said: “Labour has suspended street protests due to the security challenge involved. The strike will continue. Labour has accepted to work with the Alfa Belgore



 Committee set up by the government to negotiate a new price for petrol within the next three days."

Late-night negotiations Sunday between Nigeria’s government and union officials again failed to bring an end to a crippling nationwide strike over high fuel costs, as the oil-rich nation’s president alleged provocateurs could be attempting to hijack protests to make the country unstable.
President Goodluck Jonathan and leaders left the meeting at Nigeria’s presidential palace in the capital Abuja without offering details of the talks to waiting journalists.
Early Monday morning, Nigeria Labor Congress President Abdulwaheed Omar told journalists the union would halt street protests at Jonathan’s request after the leader claimed the protests could become violent.“He appealed to labor, considering the fact there have been serious security reports which indicated there are people outside ... that will try and hijack the street protests,” Omar said.
Omar did not offer specifics on what evidence Jonathan provided to convince unions of the threat. Jonathan had been scheduled to give a speech to be aired at 9 p.m. local time (2000 GMT) Sunday on state-run television, but the time passed without any message. The presidency later said a speech by the leader would air at 7 a.m. (0600 GMT) Monday. (Read the prepared speech here)

Civil society groups insist the NLC has no powers to suspend street protests and rallies, arguing it is false to claim that workers must go to work or be sanctioned. They reasoned that the NLC/TUC Leaders themselves have said "N65/L or Nothing", and no going back until Government reverts to N65/Litre".

"There is no Court order demanding workers to go to work. The Attorney General has not served the motion papers and the court has not heard the motion or made a ruling", they said.

"The fight must go on! And it continues today, Monday, January 16, 2012. Takeoff points are Gani Fawehinmi Square in Lagos & Berger Bus Stop in Abuja respectively. Time is 8am. Be there! This is a fight the Nigerian people must win!"

The strike began Jan. 9, paralyzing the nation of more than 160 million people. The root cause remains gasoline prices: Jonathan’s government abandoned subsidies that kept gasoline prices low on Jan. 1, causing prices to spike from $1.70 per gallon (45 cents per liter) to at least $3.50 per gallon (94 cents per liter). The costs of food and transportation also largely doubled in a nation where most people live on less than $2 a day.
Anger over losing one of the few benefits average Nigerians see from living in an oil-rich country led to demonstrations across the nation and violence that has killed at least 10 people. Red Cross volunteers have treated more than 600 people injured in protests since the strike began, officials said.

Jonathan and other government officials have argued that removing the subsidies, which are estimated to cost $8 billion a year, would allow the government to spend money on badly needed public projects across a country that has cratered roads, little electricity and a lack of clean drinking water for its inhabitants. However, many remain suspicious of government as military rulers and politicians have plundered government budgets since independence from Britain in 1960.

The strike also could cut into oil production in Nigeria, a nation that produces about 2.4 million barrels of crude a day and remains a top energy supplier to the U.S. A major oil workers association threatened Thursday to stop all oil production in Nigeria at midnight Saturday over the continued impasse in negotiations. However, the Nigeria Labor Congress said the association had held off on the threatened production halt.
Oil workers association president Babatunde Ogun and other union officials could not be reached for comment Sunday.

The association’s ability to enforce a shutdown across the swamps of Nigeria’s southern delta to its massive offshore oil fields remains in question. Much of Nigeria’s land-based oil fields remain largely automated and an increasing amount of production comes from large offshore oil fields far from the country’s coasts. However, any perceived impact on production could cause oil futures to rise as trading begins in stock markets Monday.
Fears of tightened global supplies could raise oil prices by $5-$10 per barrel on futures markets in the upcoming week. Gasoline prices would follow, rising by as much as 10 cents per gallon and forcing U.S. drivers to spend an additional $36 million a day at the pump.

The Nigeria Labor Congress and the Trade Union Congress called for a brief hiatus on demonstrations this weekend, allowing Nigerians to leave their homes to stock up on gasoline, food and other supplies. However, the mood remains tense in a nation already uneasy over recent sectarian attacks by a radical Islamist sect that have killed at least 67 people since the start of the year.

The unions addressed that concern in a statement Sunday, saying: “We are ... not campaigning for ‘regime change.’”
“The labor movement is wedded to democracy, therefore, anybody or group that wants a change in the political leadership of the country at whatever level should do so through the ballot box,” the groups said.

However, tension could be felt at an Armed Services Remembrance Ceremony held Sunday in Abuja. The program, aired live on the state-run Nigerian Television Authority, showed a somber Jonathan attending. An announcer also tried to relax the crowd ahead of a 21-gun salute in a nation with a history of coups against civilian governments.

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